Dear Robert,

I find that I often have random thoughts and feelings run through my head now that you are away working and training for your new career.

I know it is only for a relatively short time that we must be apart, but today it feels like it has been an eternity. I miss you.

Can you believe it's been nearly a year since these pictures were taken?

So much has changed since then.

The boys are a little bigger now.
And I haven't been able to hug you like that in too long.
Isaiah still loves swimming.

And Brendan does too.

Daddy's boys then, and Daddy's boys now.

Some things may never change.

Family outings have always been one of my favorite things.

Staying in is good too though.

You've always been willing to extend a hand when needed.

And you are always there to catch us when we fall.

I love you for that.

I love your smile.

And your laugh.

And your ability to make us laugh!

The day will come when that is a real car Jarom is wanting to drive.

I know you will continue to be a great teacher to our boys.

I admire your willingness to stand up for what is right.

And I love that you were so happy to receive this saw, even though you knew it meant more work for you. Your work ethic amazes me!

Husband, father, son, brother, nephew, uncle.

And you are fantastic, no matter which hat you are wearing.

Your children love you and miss you so much.

It's so hard for me to express how much you are still the focus of our days around here.

We love you!

You make our family complete.

There is a hole which we have not and cannot fill.

The hole is the space you occupied before you made your grandest gesture yet.

We appreciate the sacrifice you are making for our family.

We know we are loved, and only hope you know you are loved in return.

Just like our family has grown over the years,

the love we all have for each other has also grown.

You make us look good.

You make us feel safe.

Life is just more fun when you are around.

Even when we are not doing anything, as long as we are doing it with you we are happy.

Sometimes life is a roller coaster, and that's OK.

Sometimes there are highs and lows.

As long as we have you to give hugs and kisses,

it'll all be worth it.

When the time finally comes that we can all be together as a family again,

the celebration will be as grand as the heartache we endured in the wait to be with you.

As long as you are always there with us,

we can be strong through anything!

You are truly a magnificent man.

You are a fantastic father.

Your children love you very, very much.

They miss having you hold them.

They miss having you guide and teach them.

You are a terrific friend.

You are the best friend I have ever had.

And even though I know this must be harder on you than it is on us,

you are there to quiet my fears and dry my tears when missing you becomes too much to bear.

I miss having you here to hold and kiss at will.

I miss our quiet times together. Just sitting on the couch next to each other, or talking about the day that had just passed. The phone takes away from that.

Though I am grateful to get to talk to you every day, I miss seeing you every day.

I am grateful your parents are near enough for you to see on occasion.

I am certain it helps with the feelings of loneliness.

But I cannot wait until it is me and the kids who occupy your time again. That is the day I am waiting for.

I love you. I miss you.

All of My Love,

Your Wife

Playin' In The Rain (with a little hail mixed in)

In my defense, it was bright and sunny when we first went outside!

But you know what they say about the weather in Washington:

If you don't like it, give it ten minutes. It'll change!

It's too bad you can't see the rain/hail better.

It was coming down at an impressive rate!

Robert's Weekend -- "Moor Oar Less"

Robert spent the weekend with his parents in Maryland. He and his Dad spent some time at the marina working on getting the bottom of the boat painted.
Click here to see the picture.

Also, if you happen to be in the market for a boat, it is for sale.
Click here to see the pictures of the boat.
Click here to see the actual listing for the boat.

The Painting is Finished!

In the interest of giving credit where credit is due:

Check out his website here!

If you ever need anything painted, or if you ever hear anyone talking about needing anything painted: I want you to know that I would 100%-- without a doubt-- recommend Jeremy for the job.

He is professional, courteous, fair, and obviously he can work wonders no matter how bad the conditions he starts with. And any of you who saw this house before, knows it was BAD. Chipped paint, wood that was eaten by a bad pressure washing, 80 years worth of bad paint jobs on top of bad paint jobs.... I am quite certain it doesn't get much worse than my house was.

Here's the proof:

FRONT OF THE HOUSE

BEFORE

AFTER

The fabulous color scheme, you ask? Jeremy picked it out. My input was exactly this: "I dunno. Whatever!" So if you aren't sure what to do with colors, he can help you there too!
GARAGE
BEFORE
AFTER
Notice the roof? Jeremy pressure washed it for me! Nice, aye?
CHIMNEY
BEFORE
AFTER
WINDOWS IN THE BACK OF THE HOUSE
BEFORE

AFTER

All the little lines you see in the "BEFORE" pic are from a pressure washing gone bad a couple of years back. It ate into the wood. Jeremy filled in all the gaps/holes in the wood. Look how much better it looks! Also, notice you cannot see the clothes? Jeremy frosted the glass for me. And not because I asked, but because he was bothered by it so he asked me if he could!

Getting closer to the finished product!!!

Puyallup Spring Fair

Tiaira the Explorer

in the making!

Cute huh?

Actually, he's throwing a fit and laying on the ground in the middle of the street inside the fair.

BTW: That's TIA's Dora, not Brendan's... That's what the fit was about!

Gotta have some food at the Fair.

We consumed an onion burger, a chili cheese burger, french fries, and nachos.

And that was just in this sitting.

There was also flavored popcorn (see pics below), an Elephant Ear, lemonaid, fruit snacks, Teddy Grahams, granola bars, ... I think that's it. (I hope that's it.)

Tia puked at the end of the day. We are still trying to figure out why! ;-)

YUMMY!

Junk Chimes.
The kids LOVED these!

Isaiah playing the Junk Chimes.

Jarom and Brendan.
Brendan, Isaiah, and Tia.
Seriously, they LOVED the Junk Chimes.
What do you get when you combine a Trampoline, a harness, and bungie cords?
$6 worth of fun packed into three exciting minutes.
Here's Brendan:
And Zilly.

Brendan again.

Isaiah.

Look at that smile!

So worth getting robbed of $6!!

Jarom!

This is by far my favorite picture of the entire day!

Jarom had SOOOO much fun doing this!

Tia.

Isaiah in Cuz Mo's sunglasses munching on some Sour Apple and Caramel Popcorn.

Brendan with a mouth full of Strawberry Popcorn!

Jarom and Tia checking out the Pygmy Goats.

Tia in the bleachers. We were checking out the miniture horses.

Jarom on the ferris wheel.

He's not scared, is he?

Jarom and Tia on the boat ride. The kids all loved this!

Brendan and Isaiah going through the TeePee.

Jarom and Tia.

Isaiah and Brendan.

We had a lot of fun playing at the Puyallup Spring Fair.

My favorite moment: Biting into the coveted Onion Burger (an all time Fair fave of mine) and watching the kids play the games and seeing how excited they were to win their little prizes. We accumulated two Nemo type stuffed fish, a stuffed alligator, and a poster of Zack and Cody. Good times, good times!

My least favorite moment: When it was time to leave. Brendan decided he wasn't coming with us and stopped cold in his tracks. I tried the sweet, "Come on Brendan." Then the, "Fine. Bye." followed by taking a few steps, followed by Melanie saying, "He's really not coming Jodi." Then I moved to the, "BRENDAN, COME HERE RIGHT NOW!" That didn't work either. Then it was, "I am going to spank you, COME HERE!" I always love it when it gets to that point. Like what am I thinking will happen? The two year old will pop up and come running to me in eager anticipation of his spanking? Crazy. Then I walk back to him, pick him up and begin to walk toward the rest of our group. He begins kicking and screaming and I start yelling. All while realizing that there is a woman standing in a line watching the whole ordeal. She has really just irritated me. How dare she stare? So I snap, "You want him? Stop staring!" I did manage to get it together before adding, "Ya old hag!" But that's what I wanted to say. Good times, good times!

Pampered Chef Party

Hey everyone! So it's official, Melanie and I are doing the Pampered Chef Party! We didn't mean to lie and say it was going to be in March, it just worked out like that!
Here are the details:

Saturday May 1st at 3:00 pm.
It will be held at my house.
Come hungry.
BRING A FRIEND.
We are doing door prizes!

Invitations will be emailed soon.

Memory Lane

Do you ever end up on Memory Lane? Every once and a while, I do. So I thought I would share my trip down Memory Lane with you. Let me know what you think!

Click Here!

Disclaimer:
Robert, you will not like this. Do not click on this link!